Romano
Nice Prefect! Any idea of what's under the hood? A BDA something-or-the-other?
Your friend seems to be endowed with rather huge you-know-whats to even think of a trip like that in a coupe, let alone in an old British classic (and I don't mean "classic" in an unkind manner). best of luck to him and Godspeed!
Samhassan
IMO, All fords can be turned into nimble racers, Anglias, Cortinas, Escorts, Capris, all make very good racers.